Sensible Soccer 2 Player Plug 'n' Play

For

Against

Retro gamers will revel in the notion that once again you can get your fix of classic football arcade action with the plug-and-play version of Sensible Soccer for the price of a regular console game.

The plug-and-play device, which has been sculptured to look like a mini MegaDrive, plugs directly into your television and offers two replica MegaDrive controllers so you can battle it out with a mate or some random punter you’ve opted to invite back to your house for a football duel.

Gamers will have all the usual footie options including quick play, tournaments and the chance to play as the England squad of yesteryear - it was 1993 when this first came out don’t forget.

Taking things back to basics, Sensible Soccer features a top-down view and blocky graphics, but for some reason the sheer simplicity of it will appeal to the purists out there confused somewhat by the latest version of FIFA or Pro Evolution.

Get past the footie and we find it odd that the units makers, Radica, has opted to include two further classic arcade gems Cannon Fodder and Mega-Lo-Mania.

The former sees you in charge of a taskforce sweeping and clearing the levels before you, while the later sees you take up the role of God. Both of which, are as far from footie action as we could possibly imagine.

Either way we are happy that Cannon Fodder is included. It’s a great game and the hidden gem on this plug-and-play unit, even if it does look a little dated next to other games in your collection.

Verdict

As with all these plug-and-play options, you have to be a real fan of the classic to make it worth your while as that nostalgia factor will only take you so far.

For us the simplicity of the top-down gameplay of both Cannon Fodder and Sensible Soccer just makes for easy gaming without a graphics overload.

Do they rate against the latest Tom Clancy and FIFA offering? In all honesty probably not, but then the two of those will cost twice the price of this contribution and you won't get the same gushing memory trip.

Stuart has been a tech journalist since 1998 and written for a number of publications around the world. Regularly turning up on television, radio and in newspapers, Stuart has played with virtually every gadget available.